pamperedpuppy // luxury lifestyles for dogs

Doggie Yoga

DogaDog logo, © DogaDog

Perhaps you're one of the nearly 20 million people in North America practicing yoga. Maybe Ashtanga yoga helps you stay limber or you vibe off the serenity of an intense Hatha practice. Even if you've never attempted a single headstand, you may want to explore yoga once you realize you can get your dog involved.

Combining yoga with dogs isn't as far-fetched as you might think. After all, we run with our dogs and swim with our dogs. Why not bring them to the yoga mat?

For Suzi Teitelman, an experienced yoga instructor, yoga is a natural extension of her love for her dog. Soon after Teitelman adopted Coali, a jet-black cocker spaniel, she discovered Coali's innate interest in yoga.

Teitelman experimented with putting Coali in different poses and she says, "He loved it! When I started sharing my yoga practice with him, it seemed so natural and we fit perfectly together." The next step for Teitelman was bringing this new concept in canine wellness to the masses.

Her first doggie yoga classes took place in New York City where Teitelman served as Director of Yoga for Crunch Fitness. During her time at Crunch, Teitelman coined the term "Doga": a yoga class where owner and dog get on the mat together to practice poses, perform breathing exercises - and most importantly - bond. Six years later, Teitelman and Coali have indoctrinated hundreds of new four-legged yoga practitioners.

Doga: Yoga for Dogs
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In addition to having a howling good time with their owners, Teitelman says dogs that practice yoga sleep better and are stronger than their couch-potato counterparts. Teitelman believes the very same reasons we humans gravitate towards yoga - to release the physical body, to feel blissful and to elevate energy levels - holds true for our canines. And there's an added bonus for pups: it's a chance for our four-legged friends to get one-on-one attention. As Teitelman tells it, "Doga is all about enjoyment, smiles and happiness."

Teitelman likes to start her classes with dog and owner sitting on a mat. Teitelman instructs the humans and canines to align spines. Then the pairs start to connect through breathing: inhaling and exhaling at the same pace.

From there, the group joins in chants. According to Teitelman, dogs are natural chanters and love to make "om" sounds (om is the universal sound many practitioners invoke to start a yoga session). After vocalizing, dogs might receive mini massages to release tension. With this brief warm up finished, it's time to move into sun salutations (a yogi version of calisthenics) with the dogs.

Advanced dogis (dogs who practice yoga) may be ready for balancing postures such as the "tree pose." To get into the tree pose, Teitelman has the owners assist their dogis as they balance on a single leg. After a few more poses, class wraps up with a relaxation period. The results: Doga practitioners report having calmer, better-behaved dogs.

Teitelman recently relocated to Florida and reports that southern dog lovers are equally keen on doga. If you're interested in learning more, Teitelman is running a 4-week doga series in Florida this August (see www.dogadog.com for more details). For those outside of Florida in want of Teitelman's expertise, you'll have to wait until the release of her much-anticipated doga DVD.

Downward dog pose
From DOGA © 2003 by Quirk Packaging Inc. Used with permission of Chronicle Books, San Francisco. Visit ChronicleBooks.com

If you can't wait to experiment at home, pick up a copy of Doga: Yoga for Dogs. The light-hearted how-to book is packed with four-color photos of dogs enjoying a full yoga practice: from opening chants to closing relaxation poses.

Doga author, Jennifer Brilliant, has nearly 20 years of yoga experience. Brilliant discovered the deep spiritual bond between pet and human, by watching her husband interact with his Wheaton Terrier. Through observing this relationship, Brilliant came to accept that, "Spending time with your pet is a profound experience." From there, Brilliant went on to work up a yoga routine for dogs.

Doga provides helpful tips for human practitioners and demystifies ethereal yoga concepts. For instance, Brilliant talks about the aspiration of many human yogis to let go of judgment. The author says, "Dogis are able to accept themselves exactly as they are in each moment. This is a valuable life lesson." Brilliant goes on to explain that, unlike humans, dogs are not predisposed to push themselves into a pose; they intuitively respect their bodies.

OM ball, © Bodhi Toys

Brilliant's writing efforts are both instructional and playful. The book is filled with canine candor and impressive photos of her furry students. Sadly there aren't any follow-ups planned, instead Brilliant is focusing on the two-legged clients at her Brooklyn, New York studio. (To learn more about Brilliant visit: www.jenniferbrilliant.com)

Still hesitant to jump on the yoga bandwagon? The least threatening way to expose your dog to the yoga culture is to sample the new Bodhi India Collection of dog toys. (www.bodhitoys.com)

Items from the new Bodhi India line include the OM Ball and Shanti Sticks. The OM Ball is decorated with a pattern inspired by the tribal embroidery of artists near Rajasthan. When bounced, shaken or rolled, the ball emits the mantra "om." As an added spiritual lift, Bhagavan Das, a highly reputed yoga leader, recorded the chant for Bodhi's ball ($26). For times of quiet reflection, there's the Shanti Stick. This imminently chewable item is inscribed with the mantra Om Shanti Shanti Shanti (Om, peace, peace, peace) and provides dogs with a healthy diversion from furniture legs ($12-$14).

To develop this line of yoga-inspired dog toys, company founder, Maria Shen, tapped into her enthusiasm for Eastern culture (the designer lived in India and has been practicing yoga since the early 70's). "I've gotten a lot of love from my practice," says Shen. And to judge by the resulting line of colorful and beautifully-crafted toys, she clearly wants to share this love with her customers.

For urban dogs, aging dogs, or dogs who crave intimate attention a bit of yoga might be just the thing to encourage healthy habits and provide quality time with a pet parent.